Dean Bernstein, 36

New Plan Realty Trust, Vice President

Where is Dean now?

Before joining New Plan Realty Trust, Dean Bernstein sampled a variety of possible careers in the real estate industry. But he did not like what he found. He became an office-leasing broker shortly after graduating Syracuse University in 1981 with a marketing degree.

"I didn't feel there was enough intellectual challenge," he recalls. "You learn how to bang on a door to get in and squeeze someone to give you their business."

Then he tried working for a firm that did real estate syndications. "It was a good lesson on how not to do business," he says. "No one cared about the quality of the assets we were investing in."

Mr. Bernstein says he noticed a difference immediately at New Plan Realty Trust, the country's largest real estate investment trust. "You don't get into the meat and potatoes (of the real estate business) until you're doing acquisition, sales and management."

That's what he's been doing since he joined the trust, with impressive results. He oversaw the acquisition of 4,000 apartments in 1993. The group has already had a 9% growth in net operating income. Because of this performance, Mr. Bernstein is in line to become one of the top executives at the $1.1 billion REIT.

New Plan's chief executive and president are both approaching retirement and have started to groom junior executives like Mr. Bernstein, who is now vice president-administration/finance.

Mr. Bernstein's one disadvantage is that his father-in-law is William Newman, the REIT's chief executive. "I've had to work as hard or harder than anyone else to get respect and acceptance," he says.